Bakery reconsiders helping fund retreat after racist emails

February 08, 2019 - 9:29 AM

LA VISTA, Neb. - An Omaha-area bakery that has been helping fund a luxury religious retreat founded by billionaire Joe Ricketts said it is considering ending the relationship in light of emails that surfaced showing Ricketts making Islamophobic comments and spreading conspiracies about former President Barack Obama.

Rotella's Italian Bakery in La Vista told the Omaha World-Herald that it's reevaluating whether to continue selling a roughly $3 loaf that benefits The Cloisters on the Platte near Gretna.

Jim Rotella, the bakery's vice-president of sales, said the move comes in light of emails published this week by Splinter News that feature Ricketts, who founded TD Ameritrade and is the father of Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Joe Ricketts opened the luxurious retreat centre, which resembles a country club and lake resort, in July. The silent, weekend retreats held at the sprawling campus are geared toward Catholics but are open to anyone of any faith.

They're also free of charge, and Ricketts had hoped the bakery's bread sales would supplement donations to pay the centre's bills. The bakery has been selling the loaves since June, with a portion of the revenue going to the retreat.

Rotella didn't respond to the newspaper's questions about how much the bakery has made from the loaves and how much the retreat centre has received from bread sales. But he said the bakery "takes great pride in the diversity of our workforce and customer base."

"We believe everyone matters and value our role in helping feed and strengthen families and communities," he said.

Ricketts has apologized for the emails, saying that his comments don't reflect his values and that he strongly believes "that bigoted ideas are wrong."

Ricketts hasn't disclosed the retreat centre's price tag, but building permits list costs of at least $20 million. Ricketts bought the property for an additional $13.6 million in 2014.